“The eldest son to that king was named Rama. He was very dear, had a face resembling the moon, was a knower of distinctions, and was the best among all wielders of the bow.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 31.6)

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तस्य पुत्रः प्रियो ज्येष्ठस्ताराधिपनिभाननः
रामो नाम विशेषज्ञः श्रेष्ठ स्सर्वधनुष्मताम्

tasya putraḥ priyo jyeṣṭhastārādhipanibhānanaḥ
rāmo nāma viśeṣajñaḥ śreṣṭha ssarvadhanuṣmatām

The supporters speak so kindly that every word essentially turns into an honorific. Shri Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, can put so many different words at the end of His name, if translating to the modern day practice of filling out paperwork. One of those honorifics is visheshajna. This is applied by Shri Hanuman, who knows a thing or two about distinctions. At one point he is a minister, at another he is a leader. At one time he is the size of a mountain, at another he resembles a cat, with an intentionally diminutive stature used to scurry through the city of Lanka undetected.

सूर्ये चास्तं गते रात्रौ देहं सङ्क्षिप्य मारुतिः
पृषदंशकमात्रः सन् बभूवाद्भुतदर्शनः

sūrye cāstaṃ gate rātrau dehaṃ saṅkṣipya mārutiḥ
pṛṣadaṃśakamātraḥ san babhūvādbhutadarśanaḥ

“At night, on the sun having set, Maruti [Hanuman] contracted his body. Becoming the size of a cat, he was a wonderful sight to behold.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 2.49)

Visheshajna says that Rama is a knower of distinctions. This distinction actually means something. There is a practical application. Bhagavad-gita describes how the living entity inside is a knower. They live inside of a field, which is the body. They are thus a knower of the field, kshetrajna. Shri Krishna, who is the speaker in this instance, is the universal knower. His knowledge is not limited to a single field.

क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi
sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata
kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ
yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama

“O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.3)

As Vishnu descends to this world as Krishna, He previously appears as Rama. This means that Rama is also the knower of all fields. This would align with the description of visheshajna. In the travels of the son of Dasharatha across this world, as documented in sacred texts, we see that there are different external playing fields which have to be navigated.

1. Ayodhya

The navigating is nonnegotiable. It is a requirement. Rama has to understand the distinctions; otherwise, His entire mission is a failure. He appears for a reason. He provides advance notice of that appearance. It is like inviting all of your friends and family to a party that stretches across many years. How would it look if the host never appeared at that party? Everyone else is waiting, but the main attraction is missing.

परित्राणाय साधूनां
विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्
धर्म-संस्थापनार्थाय
सम्भवामि युगे युगे

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge

“In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.8)

Vishnu appears in Ayodhya. This is the janma-bhumi of Rama, who is the eldest son of King Dasharatha. For as much love as the father has towards his son, for as much time as the father waited to finally have an heir to the throne, there is still work to be done. Rama will not merely be a showcase, to serve as a trophy item for the adults. Dasharatha is not looking to extract social mileage from his children. Rather, they should learn to one day administer the kingdom, in the same way that made Dasharatha so respected.

2. Tapo-vana

How much respect does Dasharatha have? The venerable Vishvamitra Muni is not afraid to make an incredible ask. He wants Rama to serve as a bodyguard. Dasharatha will have to part with his beloved son, who at the time lacks signs of manhood on His face. Rama is a youth. What could a youth possibly do that an adult could not? Just why was Vishvamitra so confident in Rama’s abilities?

Dasharatha agreed. Rama took His younger brother Lakshmana with Him. The new playing field was the forests conducive to austerities. Except at that time there was interference. The austerities were disturbed. Like someone causing a commotion inside of a public library, a female monster by the name of Tataka was harassing the sages. It was Rama’s turn. He had to defend. He had to deal with her. No one else was going to help. And by the way, Tataka could appear and disappear at will. Rama would have to rely on sound to locate the target.

3. Tirahuta

बधी ताड़का राम जानि सब लायक
बिद्या मंत्र रहस्य दिए मुनिनायक

badhī tāṛakā rāma jāni saba lāyaka
bidyā mantra rahasya di’e munināyaka

“Rama showed His tremendous knowledge of fighting by killing the demon Tataka. The muni then gave to Him knowledge of secret mantras to be used in fighting.” (Janaki Mangala, 36)

Rama succeeded. He managed that playing field with dexterity. As a reward, the brothers received confidential mantras from Vishvamitra. It was like trial by fire, except it was more like trial by wicked monsters. Vishvamitra was not done. He took the two boys to a grand contest, being held in the city of Tirahuta. The contest was the idea of King Janaka, to find a suitable husband for his beloved daughter, Sita Devi.

This was a new playing field, with new distinctions, but Rama managed. He was the only one who could lift the mighty bow of Lord Shiva. Rama managed to apply string to that bow. That bow bent and then broke in half. This all occurred within the unit of time measurement known as nimesha. Rama broke the bow in the twinkling of an eye.

इत्युक्तस्तेन विप्रेण तद्धनुस्समुपानयत्
निमेषान्तरमात्रेण तदाऽनम्य महाबलः
ज्यां समारोप्य झडिति पूरयामास वीर्यवान्

ityuktastena vipreṇa taddhanussamupānayat
nimeṣāntaramātreṇa tadā’namya mahābalaḥ
jyāṃ samāropya jhaḍiti pūrayāmāsa vīryavān

“Hearing the words of the vipra, my father brought the bow forward. Bending the bow in the twinkling of an eye and applying string to it, the mighty prince Rama, who was full of valor, quickly drew the bow at full length.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 118.47-48)

4. Kishkindha

Rama married Sita and the couple went to live in Ayodhya. But there were more playing fields ahead. The couple had to one day leave and not return for fourteen years. The forests became their home. Dandaka was their primary residence, and it was from there that Sita went missing. In the subsequent search for her whereabouts, Rama and Lakshmana made their way to Kishkindha.

This was the territory of the Vanaras. It was here that Rama met Hanuman, who was the trusted minister of Sugriva. Rama managed to navigate this terrain, despite its challenges. Rama had to prove His ability to Sugriva. He then had to help Sugriva defeat the rival brother named Vali. Sugriva then agreed to employ his massive army in the search for Sita.

5. Lanka

Hanuman was the leader of that group, and he came to eventually find Sita on the island of Lanka. Hanuman returned with the news, and soon Rama and company made their way to Lanka. This was a literal battlefield, facing the dexterous and devious Rakshasas. They were like man-eaters. They could appear and disappear at will. They could employ spells of black magic to assist in fighting. Their leader, named Ravana, had ten heads and twenty arms. He thought he was invisible. He failed to recognize Rama as visheshajna. Rama was able to notice the distinctions and deal with the threat appropriately.

In Closing:

With threat appropriately dealing,
As visheshajna revealing.

That twenty arms despite,
Rama to win that fight.

And all previous a terrain,
For beloved Sita to regain.

Knowing in fact fields them all,
Can hear when His name to call.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, ramayana, vedanta